It's Going To Be A Long, Long Summer
by Copper Kestrel
Summary: During and after 'A Deadly Game', Ryan and Esposito discuss Castle and Beckett's relationship... or, more accurately, their lack of relationship.


**Title:** It's Going To Be A Long, Long Summer...

**Characters/Pairings:** Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito, Castle/Beckett hinted at, but no real pairing. **  
Rating: **K+**  
Spoilers:** Set during and after 2.24, A Deadly Game, so spoilers for everything up to that.**  
****Author's Note: **Apparently I'm on a Castle kick, because this short little thing suddenly sprang fully formed into my brain this morning. Feedback much appreciated, of course!**  
****Disclaimer:** I own nothing to do with Castle, and make absolutely no profit from writing this.

* * *

"We can't let this go on," Ryan informed his partner one night as they grabbled with cheap wooden chopsticks for the last piece of sweet and sour pork, ordered on their way back from the precinct and then dished up into bowls once they'd reached Esposito's apartment.

"Castle and Beckett?" Esposito replied, understanding Ryan's words even if they'd come out of nowhere. He'd had enough time by now to learn how to track the man's often erratic thought-processes.

Ryan nodded, "Who else? How much has the tension ramped itself up in the past few days, with Demming being around now?" He withdrew his chopsticks in an effort to gesticulate to make his point, allowing Esposito to dive in and snap up the contested bit of meat. Ryan shot Esposito a sneer, but didn't allow minor things such as sneaky partners stealing the food that was rightfully his to get in the way of his declaration.

"Much as Demming's a nice guy – "

"Good at his job, too – "

"- and much as we hate to get involved – "

"We do?"

"Something has to be done."

"Or Castle and Beckett will forever be wondering what they didn't think about?"

"Exactly."

In agreement upon that point, they broke off for a moment to resupply themselves with drinks, then reconvened on the sofa, though they left the television off as they began to map out their plan of attack.

"I'll get to Beckett," Esposito decided. "Think she'll listen to me more than she will you, sorry bro."

"Which leaves me with Castle," Ryan agreed, with a gesture showing that he took no offense at Esposito's words.

"And we're not forcing them together, remember, because if Beckett really would be happier with Demming – "

"Which she won't be."

"Then we can't change that. Even if Castle has been following her around like a love-sick puppy for a year."

"For a cop and a writer, they're surprisingly dense, aren't they?"

The pair shared a look of exasperation at the folly of their friends and, plan composed, returned to their normal nightly activities.

* * *

"I can't believe it," Esposito groaned a few nights later. This time, they were at Ryan's place, and the table was bare of food, their hunger having been sated at the little 'party' they'd thrown for Castle earlier, fast food of various types and a goodly amount of alcohol having been their main priorities.

"What did we do wrong?" Ryan agreed, mournfully examining his beer. They were both, actually, at that rather mournful stage of being drunk, which probably explained their current positions: Ryan sprawled across his beloved sofa, Esposito straddling a chair backwards, looking rather limp.

"I talked to Castle – and he was at the stage of wanting what was best for Beckett."

"So obviously in love…"

"Oh, man, so obviously…"

"And then Beckett did break up with Demming, and…"

"That woman."

"That woman."

They nodded sagely, then by consensus had another swallow of beer, only to come to the unpleasant realisation that it gone rather warm in the interval between their last swallows.

"They were so close to getting together," Ryan opinioned, several minutes later, when new, cold bottles of the required alcohol had been found and opened (a difficult procedure involving digging Ryan's bottle-opener out of his death-trap of a cutlery drawer). "I think they'd finally realized…"

"Beckett certainly had. I really don't think she'd wondered before why Castle was still following her around…"

"Women," Ryan nodded, sadly.

"And then, that woman. Ex-wife, and…"

"All our machinations were for nothing."

"Exactly. Our time as matchmakers utterly doomed."

There was a brief pause, as the pair considered their abject failure to get Beckett and Castle together, finally. They'd only been dancing around each other all year, though apparently neither one had been wanting to admit it – and that was despite, they knew, Lanie dropping anvil-sized hints about it, and despite the pool that they knew Beckett had heard of – or, actually, maybe that dance had had something to do with her knowing about the pool. And then, just when Ryan and Esposito had put their carefully realised plan into action, an ex-wife had entered the scene, and Castle had gone swanning off to the Hamptons.

Clearly, their skills as matchmakers were pathetic, and their little team – here including Lanie and the Captain – was going to be short one important member for a few months.

"It's going to be a long, long summer."


End file.
